Tag: 1962

• Sidebar: for the Boudoir

  In the ’60s, Mattel licensed charming illustrations to makers of beauty routine implements for children. Like Barbie, kids could preen in their handmirror, comb their silken locks, apply powders and perfumes–all with Barbie-branded tools. Here’s the case from a Barbie Beauty Kit, (c) 1961. What did it contain? Most examples I’ve seen were found empty;…

  sheathsensation

  March 8, 2026

  illustration

  1961, 1962, 1964

• Sidebar: Barbie’s Baggage

  Following are vintage illustrations of Barbie and other characters sporting baggage. For a rundown of vintage and nostalgic luggage suitable for Barbie dolls, check out the previous post. …and some not-Barbies:

  sheathsensation

  January 28, 2026

  illustration

  1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1967, 1968, 1978, vintage barbie

• Sidebar: Window Shopping

  A recurring theme in fashion doll illustration… …plus a bonus: when the shopping gets real. Happy holidays from Silken Flame!

  sheathsensation

  December 23, 2025

  illustration

  1962, 1964, 1965, 1970, jamie, tressy, vintage barbie

• Rival Fashion Booklets (1962-66)

  Soft hues suffuse a 1962 fashion booklet for Ideal’s Tammy. Clothes are shown worn by the character in detailed scenes, with accessories, background figures, and other immersive touches. See the booklet cover above, left; just a few of its charming fashion illustrations are below. The following year, another booklet advertised all the same fashions and…

  sheathsensation

  December 20, 2025

  clones

  1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, bobbi, tammy, tressy

• Illustrated fashion packaging

  Barbie’s early ensembles were sold in boxes with cellophane fronts that neatly displayed the contents, along with black-and-white illustrated backs featuring a bit of snappy text. Only for a short while did Barbie appear alone on any packages; once Midge was introduced, even the earlier fashions still in production came in updated packaging that included…

  sheathsensation

  November 8, 2025

  illustration

  1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, becky, francie, midge, stacey, vintage barbie

• Dell Comics (1962-1963)

  From May of 1962 to August of ’63, Dell Comics released a 5-issue run of “Barbie and Ken” comic books. Contemporaneous with the Random House chapter books, the comics introduce a different vision of Barbie. Whereas the chapter books’ protagonist was a high school student, the comics’ Barbie is an adult with numerous careers: flight…

  sheathsensation

  February 3, 2024

  illustration

  1962, 1963, after five, dell comics, ken, sheath sensation, silken flame, vintage barbie

• Basic and dressed doll boxes

  Basic Barbie boxes The first boxes in which Barbies were sold came decorated with illustrations that were simultaneously more detailed and softer in style than the fashion booklets of the time; where the booklet sketches employed heavy lines, the illustrations on the first dolls’ packaging were mostly without lines, except where needed, as in their…

  sheathsensation

  November 17, 2023

  illustration

  1961, 1962, 1963, after five, enchanted evening, ken, midge, red flare, silken flame, vintage barbie

• Barbie’s Keys to Fame

  Illustrations from the Keys to Fame game. Source for all images in this post: statestpac2011 on eBay. A funny little mid-Sixties board game, Barbie’s Keys to Fame illustrates a number of possible futures for the one-time Teen-Aged Fashion Model, each emblematic of a “key” to fame: the stamina of the Ballerina, the style of the…

  sheathsensation

  October 14, 2023

  illustration

  1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, after five, barbie keys to fame game, vintage barbie

• Visions of Solo in the Spotlight

  sheathsensation

  October 4, 2023

  illustration, Musings

  1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, booklets, carrying cases, paper dolls, vintage barbie

• Fashion Booklets

  The first, foremost, and most famous source of vintage Barbie illustrations is, of course, the fashion booklet. When we assess the drawings on items like carrying cases, doll packaging, and sewing patterns, our evaluations often center on similarities to and differences from the booklet versions. Within the booklets, there are hundreds of hand-drawn illustrations to…

  sheathsensation

  September 14, 2023

  illustration

  1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, after five, booklets, red flare, sheath sensation, skipper, vintage barbie